Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Frog39]

We got our 3 girls in June and my daughter and I love them and are really enjoying looking after them. Before we got the girls I did a huge amount of research - I was pretty confident when we brought them home that it would all be good. My partner really was against the idea and has taken no interest in them at all. He doesn't like them and I don't think he ever will! The girls get out everyday to roam around the garden - not a huge garden but big enough.

Unfortunately 2 weeks ago we noticed holes had appeared under our house - RATS! We back on to a field and the hens must've attracted them as it's never ever been a problem in the 8 years we have lived here. We practice very good housekeeping, all food is in plastic containers, the girls coop/run is on concrete with hard wood chips and the run and coop are kept clean. My partner was not happy at all - and we had a few 'I told you so' conversations!

He contacted a pest controller who has come out every day - laying traps, bait and sticky pads in various parts of the garden. So far 7 have been caught! My partner has been the one who has had to patrol the garden every morning to see if anything has been caught. Unfortunately on 2 occassions he has had to kill some trapped on the sticky glue pads. This has upset him immensely! The Rat Man has said we will get rid of them but has said it's pretty likely we will have the problem again next year. Our girls are now being kept in their coop/run and are no longer allowed to free range

I just don't know what to do - keep the girls stuck in their run all day every day or try to rehome them? Has anyone had experience of rats? Having to rehome their hens? Any advice is appreciated. If I am honest the rat situation has freaked me out a bit and I do feel very sorry that my partner who never wanted them in the first place is the one who is having to deal with the problem. I know I should be dealing with it but I just can't! also I have no idea how much we will be charged for the daily Rat Man visits - yet another reason for my partner to be annoyed

The Rat Man is certain the hens are the problem and his face on the first visit was very much 'well what did you expect?!'

I am near Edinburgh in Scotland if rehoming is the route we have to take.

[Beantree]

Don't understand why they have been confined to their run Frog39? Every poultry keeper has rats, but not all realise it.

[coco]

We have had rats in the past, put bait boxes down which are there permanently and poison blocks where the rats were tunnelling through (out of the way of the chickens of course). I bring the food in at night. It never crossed my mind to rehome the chickens. My neighbour had a rabbit and she had rats. Rats are always nearby its just that you never see them.

[Frog39]

The reason I am thinking about rehoming them is because of my partner - he is very unhappy that we have rats. I love the hens and really enjoy having them but not if it is causing trouble in the house. As I said I did my research as much as possible about hen keeping - reading books, online and speaking to people who have hens. I honestly thought - as I said - with good house keeping the rats would not be an issue. Pleny of people I have had conversations with regarding hens in their gardens do not have a rat problem.

The reason I will be keeping them in the run from now on is on the advice of the Rat Man - he said having them free ranging will attract the rats even more. I will ask him tomorrow why this would be the case but unfortunately at the moment they will not be getting out.

For the last 5 years we have kept 2 rabbits outside in a large run. We have never had any signs of rats in that time.

 

I wish things were different, thats why I am here asking for advice. I do not want to rehome my girls but cannot have rats digging holes under my house and the problems that may bring.

[kinsk]

In all likelihood you already had rats, you just didn't see the evidence.

 

There is no need to keep the hens locked up during the day though. Make sure food and water is brought in every night, it wont necessarily stop the rats but I begrudge the thought of feeding them too.

 

If it's causing problems with your partner though and he is having to pick up the slack that you don't want to then that isn't really fair. There are aspects to keeping all sorts of animals that no one particularly relishes but it's part of the job.

 

Did you not get a quote from the rat man before he did anything? Daily visits sound a bit over the top, and if he is coming daily why does your partner or you have to deal with them?

 

ETA. I cross posted with you, I don't see any difference in letting them free range or keeping them locked up when it comes to attracting rats.

[sjp]

it's been a good year for rats this year with a warm winter last year plus a long warm autumn this year so there are a lot of extra rats about.

My aunty had to get the rat man in 2 weeks ago and she doesn't keep chickens or have pets .then one of the houses 5 doors up from her had him in this week. but like you they have fields at the back of them and allotments at the end of the road which is were the rats have come from

I've had chickens at least 5 years and have not had any sign of rats just a couple of mice when the next doors garden went feral as said free ranging the chickens won't increase the likely hood of rats

[jackian]

After 4 years of chicken keeping we had rats last year . It scared me to death as I thought the neighbours would think it was the chickens.

 

We got our local rat man out from the council and he was great , put bait boxes down out of the chickens way and traced where the rats were coming from . It turned out that they had a nest under a neighbours decking . PHEW . He said that it was not the chickens that attracted them but if food is left out then of course they would come. He also mentioned bird food left out in people's gardens which he said was also an attraction.

You mentioned that you back on to a field. We have a wood at the bottom of our garden so rats must be every where .

I am lucky my OH loves the chickens so there would be no arguments in our house about them . Sadly if your OH is not keen then he will use the rats as an excuse. Just keep the rat poison up and make sure that they are not coming from a neighbours garden . Don't blame yourself .

 

Jackie x

[Mars]

Recently I have rat problem. Rats come for FOOD. if they find no food they go away. what I found good for rats is rat proof feeders. the one I would recommend is Wright feeder, cheap and it works. I have one. the other one is treadle feeder. I have two treadle feeders but I had to supplement its "rat proofiness" with springs to prevent rats from opening it.

Those feeders are effective for mice and wild birds too. the other advantage is you can fill it once and forget about feeding the hens for weeks "depends on the number of hens and feeder size". if you go for wright feeder be sure the bucket plastic is tough enough otherwise rats can chew their way in

The other thing is if you give treats give them in the morning and remove anything left before the evening

Good luck.

PS. my rat problem was caused by a composter they sold it as rodent proof. it wasn't

[auntielizzie]

When we had a rat problem I got rid of the compost bin first and put out a bait box (safely away from the hen house though). I then put the house and run on slabs so they couldn't dig their way in any more. The rats haven't been since. They are probably still around but don't bother to hang about in our garden any more as they can't get to the food, which is what they are interested in. Incidentally, the rats were living two doors down under a neighbours shed. You don't need to confine the chickens I hope you don't have to rehouse your hens, but I totally understand about difficult OH!

[Mars]

Unfortunately on 2 occassions he has had to kill some trapped on the sticky glue pads

If you leave them they will die within 24 to 48 hours

[Beantree]

Well Frog39, the rat man is very wrong about free ranging chickens attracting more rats. The only reason that would happen is if you scatter feed them, which is throwing grain around the area for them to find. If you use pellet feed in a feeder in their run only, them free ranging will make no difference whatsoever. The rat man has to inspect the traps every day by law so your partner shouldn't be doing his job, although I accept it is more humane to kill the rats as soon as possible after they are caught.

 

The chickens should have easy access to water when free ranging and we make sure there is always a drinker outside the run. It helps to discourage rats if both food AND water sources are removed, so if you do have a drinker out just empty it at night.

 

Sounds to me that there is nothing wrong with your chicken husbandry at all. There is no particular reason I can see why all these rats have suddenly appeared around your house. There must be a bit more to this?

 

Could their previous food source elsewhere have been suddenly stopped? So has a pheasant breeding operation in the woods just been closed down or has a local farm closed?

 

You may find that the root of your partners problem with chickens is an undisclosed fear of birds. 'Flapping wings' I was told by a sufferer was her issue. The local Special Constable refused to come into our kitchen because there was a 6 week old Mallard duck on the floor at the far end!

[gavclojak]

Maybe he is jealous of the time you spend with them